FROM CBD NEWS SOURCEThe South Dakota State University baseball team will play a challenging schedule during the 2012 season in hopes of taking over the top spot in The Summit League.

“Our early non-conference schedule is tough and will get us ready for the Summit League season,” first-year coach Dave Schrage said. “We play a wide variety of opponents and continue to play some of the bigger schools in the region”

The Jackrabbits are scheduled to play their first 28 games of the season on the road, starting with a three-game series Feb. 24-26 at Murray State (Ky.). SDSU will then spend its entire week of Spring Break in the state of Arkansas, playing series at Arkansas State (March 2-4), Arkansas-Little Rock (March 6-7) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (March 9-11). The series against UAPB will feature the Jackrabbits’ first doubleheader of the season, on March 10.

Single games at Nebraska (March 13) and Minnesota (March 28) bookend the remainder of the March slate, which will also include four-game weekend series at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (March 16-18) and Northern Colorado (March 23-25).

SDSU rounds out the main non-conference portion of its schedule with a two-game series at Iowa on April 3-4.

Summit League play kicks off Easter weekend with a four-game series April 6-8 at IPFW.

The Jackrabbits are scheduled to play their home opener April 10 against Mount Marty, followed by another mid-week game the next day against Minnesota at Erv Huether Field. All single mid-week home games begin at 3 p.m.

SDSU will take advantage of a weekend outside of league competition to play three games in the new home of the College World Series. The Jackrabbits are slated to face Creighton (Neb.) in games at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha on April 13 and 15, with another matchup against Iowa set for April 14.

From there, the Jackrabbits will head north to Fargo, N.D., for a four-game weekend set April 20-22 at North Dakota State.

SDSU opens a season-long nine-game homestand April 24 with a mid-week contest against the University of Sioux Falls, followed by consecutive home series against versus Oral Roberts (April 27-29) and Oakland (May 4-6).

Following a trip to Southern Utah for games May 10-12, the Summit League regular season concludes May 17-19, when the Jackrabbits host Western Illinois.

The Summit League postseason tournament returns to Tulsa, Okla., May 24-26 at J.L. Johnson Stadium on the Oral Roberts University campus. The top four teams during the regular season will advance to the double-elimination tournament, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Jackrabbits have reached the title series at the Summit League postseason tournament each of the past three seasons. SDSU tied a school record for wins during a 39-21 campaign in 2010 and recorded a 37-20 overall record in 2011.

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